Equinor has won a preliminary injunction to allow construction to continue on the Empire Wind project offshore New York State.
Equinor has won a preliminary injunction to allow construction to continue on the Empire Wind project offshore New York State.
The company filed a civil suit in the US District Court for the District of Columbia challenging the US Department of the Interior’s suspension of the Empire wind project offshore New York State. Empire is seeking a preliminary injunction to continue construction while the litigation proceeds.
Equinor said in a statement: ‘While Empire continues to work closely with the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) and the other relevant authorities to find a prompt resolution to the matter, the order is in Equinor’s view unlawful and threatens the progress of ongoing work with significant implications for the project. The preliminary injunction filing is necessary to allow the project to continue as planned during this critical period of execution and avoid additional commercial and financing impacts that are likely to occur should the order remain effective.’
In December President Trump announced that the US is pausing five offshore wind projects off the Atlantic Coast because of security concerns that they would interfere with radar signals. At that point Empire Wind was more than 60% complete and Equinor has invested over $4 billion.
‘Empire has coordinated closely with numerous federal officials on national security reviews since it executed its lease for the project in 2017, including with the Department of War, and has complied with relevant national security-related requirements identified as part of the regulatory process,’ said Equinor. ‘In addition, Empire meets regularly with officials charged with oversight of security issues for the project, including weekly meetings with the US Coast Guard and other marine first responders.’
Empire Wind is being developed under contract with the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) to deliver electricity for New York. Once completed, the project is expected to provide enough power to electrify approximately 500,000 homes.
